North American insurers, now is the time to submit case studies of your best new ideas that are transforming the insurance industry.

I am pleased to announce that the Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards 2018 are now open for submissions. A joint initiative by Efma and Accenture, the awards have served as a catalyst for innovation in the insurance sector, and have been instrumental in helping insurers develop better, more disruptive strategies since 2016.

This year, for the first time, there will be two award ceremonies. The global event in Paris, France, will recognize all of the winners, while a second event in the United States will honor the North American winners.

Also new this year is the expansion of the Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards to seven categories, plus the special “Global Innovator” award:

• Artificial Intelligence, for innovations that leverage the disruptive power of artificial intelligence technologies.
• Best Disruptive Product or Service, for innovations that enhance, extend or replace the traditional offer.
• Claims Management, for innovative practices aimed at facilitating and/or accelerating the claims management process, or improving the detection and prevention of fraud.
• Connected Insurance and Ecosystems, for innovations that use the Internet of Things to create new business models.
• Customer Experience and Engagement, for innovations that radically enhance the way insurance players engage customers.
• Data-Enabled Underwriting, for the significant enhancement of the underwriting process through improved data collection and advanced analytics.
• Insurtech, for the creation and/or application of innovative technology that substantially improves the insurance value chain, enhances the customer experience, or explores new value sources.
• Global Innovator, to the overall most innovative insurer.

Winners will be selected using a rigorous nomination, voting and judging process overseen by an awards jury.

Entries will be evaluated based on:

• Originality—the uniqueness of the idea in the marketplace and its potential as a game changer.
• Impact—the innovation’s capacity to generate a superior, long-term, competitive edge and a significant return on investment.
• Universality—the innovation’s adaptability across different markets and countries.

Learn more about the submission process here.

At the 2017 Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards, five winners were chosen from 219 entries submitted by 144 institutions in 38 countries. Awards were given out in four categories, plus the special Global Innovator category.

Watch how the winners were celebrated for their disruptive projects at the Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards Ceremony 2017 in London: